The Atlantic Technological University (ATU ) this week hosted a major business engagement event to assess to degree to which higher education institutions are meeting the needs of enterprise in the West and North West.
“There is nothing as Galway as Our Lady s Boy’s Club,” was how our president Michael D Higgins described OLBC some years ago at a function in the Columban Hall. It is more than 80 years since it was founded and it is the longest-running youth club in the country. It was set up by Fr Leonard Shiel SJ at a time when there were was a lot of grinding poverty in Galway and no recreational facilities or extra-curricular activities for young people in areas like the Claddagh, Bohermore, Shantalla, and ‘The West’. The club provided these and has been a source of guidance and inspiration to thousands of young men and boys since, especially those from a working class background. From that first day of nervous membership, right through their teens, and even after they had taken up the challenges of adult life, the spirit and watchful eye of the Club is ever with them.
Galway Community College of Further Education (GCC ) continues to offer full-time courses in a wide variety of career areas designed for entry to skilled employment, in preparation in starting an apprenticeship, or for progression to further and higher education. For some, these courses may be used as a transition year, an opportunity to sample new vocational areas before committing to a longer course of study in higher education. All GCC s one-year courses offer a mix of blended learning, with work experience and funded Erasmus placements. These courses are aimed at Leaving Certificate and Leaving Certificate Applied graduates, mature learners, and anyone finding themselves considering changing their career path.
The response to passenger chaos at Dublin Airport must elicit a wider aviation policy response rather than a short-term fix, Limerick Chamber has stated.